Need Help Battery and Engine in Winter

[toto55]

I have a Kubota BX25
and a Kawasaki 360 ATV

Kubota in the winter:
Mgnetic 60 watt engine block warmer on all of the time or just before I use it ?
Battery tender all of the time?

ATV in the winter:

Battery tender all of the time?

I want the above to be ready in the snow
Please be specific and if you can state what you do and what you use

And yes 6 volt or 12 volt (i'm lazy and stupid about this stuff)

Thanks !

Live in Pennsylvania
Kept in 2 car non insulated garage, cement floor and I had two batteries go on the ATV already post winter, trying to avoid this by asking you guys which are great!

 

[MikeD74T]

Where are you???? A 60 watt heater at -30F won't even keep it's self warm. MikeD74T

 

[toto55]

Pennsylvania

 

[Craig Clayton]

toto55
Based on the statement ( ready for snow ) you must be located where it will be cold. Depending upon your location the 60 Watt magnetic heater might not be fast enough to warm up the block.
I have a 300 watt lower rad hose heater which is equal to a 300 block heater on a 26 HP Kubota. The thermal transfer of the magnetic heater is not the best, so therefore your warm up time could be quite long. If the loses to the cold are equal to the heat input of the heater might then on a very cold day it might not help.
I have used a electric strip heater at 250 watts on a old ford 8N and it would start at 0 F with 2.5 hours heat.
With the Kawi I assume it is air cooled, and on those I have used on old 800 watt car interior heater blowing on the block for min 1 hour.
Some people like trickle chargers but if the battery is good then they should roll. But once again a warm battery has twice the power of a stone cold battery.
At the plant we have 250 HP Cummins generators with 1500 watt heaters on ALL the time and these are indoors. When they start the engines up to speed and online in 30 seconds.
So back to your needs I would suggest a heater that gets the engine temp to 60F in 2 hours relative to the temp of the storage location. A trickle will not hurt but if you operate the tractor in the winter every 5 days because of snow it should stay charged.
You probably have a 12 volt sytems .

Craig Clayton

 

[yankeerider]

Another factor to consider is where are those vehicles stored? My JD 755 is kept in an unheated building, but it does have a concrete floor and I have never seen the inside temp below the upper 20s despite the outside temp. In 19 winters, the tractor has never failed to start without any type of supplemental heat.

 

[toto55]

Thanks, this is what i'm hearing:

Use the block heater before the equipment is used, not constantly on
(I wasn't clear earlier, i'm looking at a 200 watt block heater , was a 60 watt battery heater/warmer)

Tricle battery charger OK all of the time during winter for both the ATV and Kubota, if I use the Kubota or ATV at least once a week or run it maybe not too much need for trickle.

 

[MikeD74T]

Thanks, this is what i'm hearing:

Use the block heater before the equipment is used, not constantly on
(I wasn't clear earlier, i'm looking at a 200 watt block heater , was a 60 watt battery heater/warmer)

Tricle battery charger OK all of the time during winter for both the ATV and Kubota, if I use the Kubota or ATV at least once a week or run it maybe not too much need for trickle.

Correct, constant block heat is only necessary for engines that have to go to power immediately after start. Full load on cold engines will cause pistons to expand faster than the cold cylinders & can cause catastrophic damage. You shouldn't need a battery heater in PA. My Kioti starts with cold battery at -40F (with block heat) and have started at -25F without block heat as will my Duramax. Without block heat at those temps the engine struggles but cranking is adequate. MikeD74t

 

[techwrtr2]

FWIW, I live in central PA. I do not use a block heater on my JD855, only a battery maintainer. While I haven't needed to start it in -25*, in otherwise very cold weather it has not failed to start. On the old ATV (ancient Suzuki), again I just use a battery maintainer. On the Satoh, that could use a bit of warmth and I do have a block heater in it. Has a habit of leaking when I use it so I've avoided such. Otherwise, yes it too is on a battery maintainer.

I keep them on pretty much everything that's not in constant daily use, particularly during the winter.

 

[RPW]

My 2cents, as you are storing inside skip the heaters and go with a propane cannon heater. One from TSC will run you about $100 and can heat an entire garage in about 30 minuets. Also allows for working on tractor when you need to .

 

[radioman]

I have a BX stored in a unheated garage. No heaters or warmers. I always add anti gel additive to fuel and never had starting problems. I live in NYS near lake where all the winds whip to my area making it colder then it should be.

A block heater (not magnetic heater) is nice and can be used 30 mins before starting tractor for easier starts. But I tell you, the BX really doesnt need all the extra help to start as it always starts for me.